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Typhoon Merbok struck the western shore of Alaska on Sept. 17, 2022. Due to unusually warm ocean temperatures, Merbok was born near Japan, where typhoons that strike Alaska rarely begin, and propelled eastward to become one of the worst storms on record to hit the state. As Merbok moved eastward toward Alaska, its waves surpassed 50 feet in the nearby Bering Sea. Water levels near Nome, Alaska, were 10.52 feet above the low tide line. That height was only surpassed once before, by the worst storm on record in November 1974. However, Merbok was by far the strongest to strike in early autumn. The storm impacted hundreds of miles of coastline from north of Bristol Bay to just beyond the Bering Strait. CBS News reported that the storm was vast enough to cover the US mainland from the Pacific Ocean to Nebraska and from Canada to Texas, with effects felt as far away as California. Alaska’s subsistence economy was especially impacted as evidenced by a lost protective berm in the village of Shaktoolik. Rebuilding from storms is especially challenging for remote regions of Alaska. Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/alaska-flooding-typhoon-merbok-today-2022-09-18/

Sustainable Aquaculture May Have the Solution By Gordon Cairns* The Strait of Gibraltar—where the Atlantic Ocean pours into the Mediterranean Sea—is so narrow that on a clear day the African coast is visible from the small fishing community of Barbate, in the southern Spanish province of Cadiz. For millennia, fishermen have hunted this water for Atlantic Bluefin tuna as the massive fish funnel through this thin gap between continents towards their spawning grounds each spring. These powerful, swift, deep-diving fish were once so plentiful the waters teemed with them. But severe overfishing in the 20th century pushed their populations into danger zones by the 1970s. Since that wake-up call, government bodies have worked in tandem with their foreign counterparts to save a species of fish that crosses countless international boundaries in its lifetime. Today, decades of conservation efforts, such as fishing quotas and limits on fishing techniques, have helped the Atlantic Bluefin tuna rebound, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). However, the Southern Bluefin tuna remains “endangered,” and the Pacific Bluefin tuna is “near threatened,” the IUCN says. And now there are efforts to sustainably “ranch” and “breed” these fish, which normally reach weights of hundreds of pounds. Ancient Tuna Fishing Centuries ago, Phoenician fishermen were the first to set up the “Almadraba,” a netting system using boats that is still practiced today. The Almadraba-style corralling of thrashing bluefin, their giant bodies smashing against each other in a futile attempt to escape, turns the churning waters slowly to pink, then red. Such a sight might seem barbaric, but it is arguably more ecologically beneficial than the high-tech trawlers that track nearby shoals and drop huge nets that gather up everything in their wake. At least the ancient netting method allows juvenile fish to escape, grow, and propagate, ensuring the survival of the species. The worldwide appetite for tuna sushi, sashimi, or simply steak wasn’t always there: Tuna was once viewed as a gamefish to be caught for sport. But then tuna meat became popular fare in Japanese sushi restaurants, and now several species face unquenchable global demands for their delicious cuts of meat. Case in point: One tuna can fetch as much as $30,000 at Tokyo’s Tsukiji market, the world’s largest seafood market. Quotas and Other Fishing Controls Still, if all three types of Bluefin—Atlantic, Pacific, and Southern—are to survive, they will need to be fished using modern, sustainable methods that allow their numbers to climb. The introduction of international fishing quotas for all varieties of bluefin, radically reducing the catch of smaller bluefin, and limiting the number of adult tunas fished, has helped the numbers rebound. In 2017, the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission and the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission agreed to work together to replenish the Atlantic and Pacific Bluefin tuna populations to 20% of their historic levels by 2034, National Public Radio reported. Currently, the Pacific tuna stock is less than 3% of what it once was. Kevin Piner, research fishery biologist at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries’ Southwest Fisheries Science Center, led a recent Pacific bluefin assessment that shows promising results. “The new findings demonstrate the resilience of a species that can multiply quickly when given the chance,” he said. However, more sustainable methods will be needed to satisfy demand and keep fish stocks high. 'Ranching’ Tuna In the middle of the Mediterranean, over 1,000 nautical miles from the nets of Barbate, the small island of Malta lies close to the spawning grounds of the Atlantic bluefin. Unsurprisingly, this is the heart of commercial fishing in the region and where scientists are using a more sustainable approach to bluefin fishing called “ranching.” This method, imported from Australia, involves capturing juvenile tuna in the wild and transporting them to large pens where they are grown to market size. Ranching accounts for one third of the Atlantic bluefin quota, up to an incredible 14,000 tons of fish per year. Ranching, where juvenile fish are captured in the wild and grown to market size, makes up a third of the Atlantic bluefin quota, up to an incredible 14,000 tons of fish per year. There are two concerns over the future of tuna ranching. First is the taking of young bluefin from the wild; the second is feeding them wild-caught bait fish. Malta’s docks are now home to numerous refrigerated containers full of frozen bait fish. Every day, twenty-seven containers full of fish are thawed and supplied to the fish farms—each has up to thirty cages brimming with ravenous fish. ‘Breeding’ Bluefin Tuna The ranching practice is considered unsustainable by many, so scientists in Malta have been working to replicate a technique discovered by their Japanese counterparts over a decade ago—breeding tuna from an egg. The Japanese process has been successful—over 3,000 tonnes (2,952 tons) of Pacific Bluefin tuna have been grown through this type of aquaculture. But, so far, Japan is the only country to make it work commercially. In Malta, Professor Chris Bridges and fellow scientists from across the Mediterranean have recently perfected a technique to do the same with the Atlantic variety. All they need is financial backing to make the scheme commercially viable. “Everybody has the same idea: We want to domesticate and breed the bluefin tuna. We know it is possible. Japan has shown us the way, in terms of what they have done, and now it is just a match of getting the right mix of investment together with technology, pushing this thing forward,” says Bridges. Professor Bridges—part of the team for over a decade at the aquaculture life sciences company, TunaTech—explains how the new method will revolutionize tuna fishing in the Mediterranean: “Basically, we can short-circuit the whole system of ranching and replace it with seed, as in other aquacultures, making it totally sustainable, as you won’t need to fish the wild population.” He adds: “We can produce as many eggs as we need for the full cycle. The fish that are caught in the spawning areas will still spawn in captivity with anything up to 300-400 spawning fish, meaning that we can collect 70 million eggs every day—a whole dustbin full of them!” The next step will be to create a hatchery. “With a hatchery, a brood stock would be used continually over the next three-to-four years, which would mean we would only have to take approximately 100 fish out of the wild population. Then, we produce fingerlings [juvenile fish] which could be grown out to any sized fish. You can grow a five-kilogram (eleven-pound) tuna roughly in less than one year.” The other half of the sustainability equation is getting rid of those refrigerated containers on the Maltese docks. By current estimates, demand for the fish meal they contain will exceed what can be collected from the sea by 2050. Emerging Solutions A new plant-based type of feed known as “tuna sausages”—a mixture of soya and fish protein—has been fed to ranched fish as an experiment. After a few weeks, the ranched fish were successfully weaned off the bait fish. Professor Bridges assures me that in Japanese trials of “green” tuna, the flavor of the fish was unaffected. The task now is to get the cost of land-based protein—which could come from any number of sources from insect protein to chicken feathers—down in price to match the cost of its fish meal competitors. “The world population is growing, and there is no way we can continue to provide protein and food through fishing,” Professor Bridges says. “That’s the reason we favor aquaculture, as this is the only way to harness the oceans.” “If we can go to Mars,” he adds, “we have the technology to work in the ocean.” *Gordon Cairns is a freelance journalist and teacher of English and Forest Schools based in Scotland.

Beavers are nature's ecosystem engineers By Mal Cole* For thousands of years, a giant species of beaver, Castor californicus, was a feature of the North American landscape. These 200-pound beavers feasted on aquatic vegetation and wallowed in streams and ponds. But early beavers relied exclusively on wetlands for habitat, and, during the last ice age, a drying climate likely led to their extinction. Now North America knows only one species of beaver, the relatively diminutive Castor canadensis. Beavers’ remarkable ability to transform their environments makes them a keystone species or an organism that holds together an ecosystem. They change habitats not just for themselves but for other wildlife, and those new habitats become essential for the survival of other species, especially bird life, including great blue herons. Beaver populations benefit human beings, too, as their famous dam-building activities can help mitigate many of the negative effects of climate change. Beaver dam structures filter water, and beaver ponds create surface water that can counter drought, flooding, and wildfires. To build a dam, beavers begin by building a foundation with a layer of stones and then intricately weave in fallen trees, branches, and limbs that they have harvested themselves. They use their extremely sharp teeth to eat the green sugary layer of tree limbs that lies just below the bark. This behavior not only provides nourishment but also building materials. The dams are reinforced with pond plants and mud—and are astonishingly sturdy: In 2005, a group of scientists found what they believed to be the fossilized remains of a beaver dam that could be 125,000 years old. When beavers move into an area, they can swiftly transform an ecosystem—their newly dammed areas generate open water, wetlands, and meadows. Beavers can even convert a desert creek into a lush oasis. For example, beaver activity in the Nevada desert helped revive the Susie Creek watershed after other restoration efforts attracted the furry rodents to the site. Their return also rejuvenated the creek’s riparian habitat—the new healthy vegetation on the banks provides shelter for wildlife and water for agriculture in the area. Human Opposition Despite such dramatic results, beavers still run up against opposition from their chief competitor for habitat, human beings. Humans, who also like to live in valleys near water sources, can react poorly if a beaver family moves in and turns a little stream into a big pond. The Beaver Institute, based in Southampton, Massachusetts, provides education about how landowners can coexist with beavers. “Beavers have been around for millions of years, and they’re second only to us in changing their environment to suit their own needs,” said Michael Callahan president and founder of the Beaver Institute. “Beavers get a bad rap because the only times they get in the news are when they’re causing problems for people … but if we want a healthy landscape with streams, rivers, and clean water, we need beavers,” he said. Callahan became interested in helping beavers in 1996 when Massachusetts legislators passed a law banning specific kinds of traps for hunting and property management. This prompted some residents to warn that the state will soon be overrun with beavers. This is a common concern, but because beavers have a territorial nature and because each beaver pair only has a few kits a year, there’s little chance of being overwhelmed. Conversely, if beaver activity is flooding roads or interfering with agriculture, it can become necessary to curtail them. There are often simple solutions for handling animals who have become a nuisance: Trees can be fenced so that beavers won’t cut them down, or a drainage device can lower water levels if a beaver pond has caused flooding. “Trapping is only a short-term answer,” said Callahan, “because if you remove the beavers, the habitat is still there, and young beavers will move in.” Ultimately, learning to live alongside beavers will have benefits far beyond the welfare of the animals themselves, he explained. “By coexisting with beavers, we’re helping not just beavers, but the planet. With climate change, it seems like there’s so little that individuals can do. But it’s very empowering to know that if we keep beavers in the landscape, it will have a lot of benefits.” Beavers Helping Conservationists Some conservationists who see those benefits are trying to use these industrious mammals to reinvigorate landscapes and other natural resources. One way to attract beavers is to place sturdy posts and other building materials that can be used as a base for a dam in key waterways. Another way to attract beaver families is to make a false dam with similar materials. These structures, called beaver dam analogs (BDAs), are part of the current efforts to restore habitat in Oregon, also known as “The Beaver State.” BDAS and beaver families are being used in the Upper Klamath Basin, where toxic algae have caused fish that were once a plentiful food source for the Klamath Tribes to become a rarity. The positive effects on climate change that beavers provide inspired filmmaker Sarah Koenigsberg to create an award-winning 2018 documentary, “The Beaver Believers,” which follows several activists as they work to multiply beaver populations in the American West. “I was looking for a story that could frame climate change as something tangible we could relate to, and I wanted to stay away from a doom-and-gloom apocalyptic narrative,” said Koenigsberg. “Beavers can ameliorate nearly every negative climate impact that we feel here in the inland West from too much water to not enough, from habitat loss to crazy out-of-control wildfires,” she said. Koenigsberg also believes that humans play an essential role in partnership with beavers, that “there are ways human cultures have participated productively and in peace with the natural world since time immemorial, and there are ways that we can try to do better.” She has furthered this goal of bringing people and beavers together as a founding member of a new nonprofit called The Beaver Coalition. The organization’s mission is “to empower humans to partner with beavers through education, science, advocacy and process-based restoration.” For instance, when a landowner becomes alarmed by the appearance of a new beaver pond, education can help resolve the issue, Koenigsberg said. “You can just share with folks that this is actually a really good thing for biodiversity, for fish habitat, and all the things good thing beavers do. Sometimes it’s a very quick turnaround,” she said. But sadly, in most states, there are few, if any, restrictions on trapping and killing beavers. Although they are not considered a threatened species, North American beaver populations have not recovered from the fur trade that reduced their numbers from as many as 200 million to less than 100,000. Today’s beaver population has recovered to only 15 million, and ecosystems are still suffering from their absence. Koenigsberg and Callahan are working to spread information about the broad environmental value of beavers. “Like a keystone in an arch, if you pull it out, the whole arch collapses. If you take beavers out of the landscape, then their whole ecosystem collapses, and all these other species suffer,” he said. Koenigsberg put it this way: “The fact is that beavers are a key missing piece, they have to be allowed to come back because they engineered these [eco]systems, and these [eco]systems will forever be impoverished without them.” *Mal Cole is a freelance science and nature writer based in Massachusetts. Editorial Note: Mal Cole interviewed Michael Callahan of Beaver Institute; and Sarah Koenigsberg of The Beaver Coalition. Further Reading: “Ancient Beavers Leave Traces of Dam in Yukon | CBC News.” CBCnews. CBC/Radio Canada, November 19, 2005. “Beavers, Water, and Fire-a New Formula for Success • The National Wildlife Federation Blog.” The National Wildlife Federation Blog, October 30, 2018. Feinstein, Kelly. “A Brief History of the Beaver Trade.” History Department UC Santa Cruz. Accessed September 29, 2022. l. Osborne, Jari, and Paul Freer. “Nature/Leave It to Beavers.” Episode. Nature 32, no. 17. PBS, May 13, 2014.

By Natasha Spencer-Jolliffe* Faith-based Charity Brings Water Purification Systems to Remote Areas Clean, reliable drinking water for all populations remains a top international goal. As of 2020, about three-quarters of the world—5.8 billion people—had access to safe water, according to the World Health Organization. But around 500 million people are estimated to still use unpurified water taken from wells, springs, lakes, ponds, rivers, and streams. Many organizations today are working to address the global water crisis, but one—Christian non-profit Healing Waters International (HWI)—is focused on some of the neediest populations—those who live in poor, remote areas. “We know that access to clean water is a critical need and human right; it affects nutrition, cognitive ability, productivity, educational and livelihood opportunities, and social well-being,” says Hana Lokey, HWI’s senior program manager. HWI is built on the belief that everyone deserves safe water, and that includes people living in remote coastal villages in Haiti or rural mountain towns in Central America, she said. “HWI is grateful to be a part of addressing this inequity.” Founded by Two Churches HWI was born in 2002, when two churches—one in Colorado in the United States and the other in the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean—formed a non-profit partnership. The founders’ goal was to provide sustainable water treatment technologies to serve marginalized communities at a low cost. This meant pursuing the best water purification systems for challenging locations—as well as finding ways for the program to be both financially self-sustaining and viable for the long haul. HWI is also true to its missions of encouraging faith in God and educational programs wherever it goes. In its two decades, HWI has brought clean water to hundreds of thousands of people in communities in the Caribbean and Central America—and soon it will stretch to East Africa. Developing Water Purification Technology HWI started its first clean water initiatives by partnering with Dominican Republic churches serving people in urban areas and their surrounding neighborhoods. Before long, their work expanded into Mexico, Guatemala, and, most recently, Haiti, using the same collaborative, church-centered approach. Then, a decade ago, HWI switched its focus to remote, rural communities that are outside traditional water infrastructures and in severe need of help with safe water. All HWI purification systems are custom-configured to specific water source and consumption demands, but this switch to rural communities meant HWI had to build systems good enough to purify water that is brackish, tainted with arsenic or fluoride, or filled with toxins. One of HWI’s strengths is its use of a “separation membrane” in its water systems. Separation membrane technologies, such as ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis, are core parts of systems that remove contaminants from water. HWI configures a full “treatment train” around this core, installing control boxes for its reverse osmosis systems that can adjust, control, and optimize system performance for a community. For larger communities, HWI has expanded its engineering offerings to provide more robust, customizable, and larger-scale purification and pumping systems. Today, HWI has projects that are ten times larger than those the organization was working on just two years ago. Challenges One of HWI’s most notable global challenges is acceptance and buy-in from management at the local project level. “In the past, we have had projects with great leaders who have championed a water project, but after a few years, they move away or are unable to continue as the project lead. It can be a challenge then to pass the project off to another leader in the community,” Lokey explains. Changing the behavior of recipients is “always harder than the hardware element,” says Lokey. If people have always received their water directly from a natural spring or an untreated tap, it takes effort to convince them that they should drink purified water, especially if their usual water source is free, she adds. In other words, providing access to safe water (at a low cost) does not guarantee that people will take advantage of it. Another obstacle is introducing equipment that will produce safe water efficiently in communities with scant resources and few, if any, people with business or technical backgrounds to help operate it. “HWI has continued to grow into more complex and larger-scale systems but has had to continue to find ways to make this equipment understandable for local project teams to operate and maintain,” Lokey says. On the bright side, HWI finds that inviting community engagement, offering a proper business and distribution model for the local context, and providing hygiene and sanitation education that is tailored for the local recipients, can increase access, understanding and use of safe water in a community. Adaptation Has Been Key to Success HWI has learned to adapt in achieving its mission of ensuring safe water no matter where people live. For instance, several years after the non-profit began to work in the Dominican Republic, HWI realized that small water stores, which provide safe water at affordable prices, had proliferated, and most of the island’s communities now had access to clean water. HWI decided to shift its focus over the border, to the Dominican Republic’s island neighbor Haiti, and west into Central America, where Honduras had a severe need for safe water. HWI’s partnership model required adaptation, as well. HWI now partners with local leaders who are trusted by the community and have the desire and capacity to resolve their community’s water needs, Lokey says. HWI now partners with local leaders who are trusted by the community and have the desire and capacity to resolve their community’s water needs. Adaptation has further involved creating unique business plans to ensure that projects can earn enough revenue to cover operating costs. HWI’s charitable work is funded by several revenue streams, including individual donors, churches, family foundations, and partner organizations that subcontract HWI to implement WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) interventions. Its projects include some community contributions for its clean, pure water, which can be given via donations of materials or sweat equity, a form of unpaid work given by entrepreneurs or employees. In addition, the projects set aside monthly savings to cover replacement costs for equipment and materials. “Ongoing support is critical to long-term success,” Lokey says. HWI commits to ongoing support visits at no cost to the local project, so recipients are incentivized to communicate openly about issues or needs. Setting up Clean Water Systems for Future Generations Looking ahead, HWI plans for its work to take two forms. First, the organization will focus more on working at the regional level on larger-scale projects. “Larger scale in terms of implementation strategy and people served creates natural efficiencies for our team to maximize reach,” says Lokey. Second, HWI will expand its work into Nicaragua and Kenya. In addition to Honduras, these two countries have been in the organization’s sights for a while, and projects have been inaugurated there in 2022. HWI also designs and supplies systems for strategic partners, most notably its cross-Africa partner, Jibu. To support both these goals, HWI is looking into designing solar-powered purification projects. These systems often include a solar pumping component that can draw water to the purification site from more than two miles away. “With particular needs in water scarcity and exotic contaminants like arsenic or fluoride, we see a need that HWI is uniquely positioned to tackle, so we are working toward building the partnerships and local capacities in these countries,” Lokey says. *Natasha Spencer-Jolliffe is a freelance journalist and editor. Over the past 10 years, Natasha has reported for a host of publications, exploring the wider world and industries from environmental, scientific, business, legal, and sociological perspectives. Natasha has also been interviewed as an insight provider for research institutes and conferences. Sources: Interview with Hana Lokey, Senior Program Manager, Healing Waters International.

By Nnamdi Anyadike* The push by governments and the automotive industry to promote electric vehicles (EVs) as a replacement for diesel- and gasoline-powered vehicles is rapidly gaining traction. It is a move of historic proportions, as it will effectively end the internal combustion engine’s (ICE’s) 100-year hegemony that helped kick-start the age of the private vehicle in the 20th century. According to a recent Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) estimate, twenty-six million plug-in vehicles will be on the road globally by the end of this year, out of a total automotive market of around ninety-two million units. Almost one million EVs a month are being added to the global fleet. That compares with a total global EV fleet of just one million in 2016. The BNEF estimate shows the world EV market is currently dominated by China with 46% of total sales. Europe with 34% of total EV sales is second, followed by the US with 15%. Total EV sales are forecast to reach 31.1 million by 2030. This is out of a forecast total automotive market size of 122.83 million units, according to AutoTechNews. According to a Deloitte report, in 2030, China, Europe, and the US will continue to account for the broadly similar EV market share that they do today, achieving 49%, 27%, and 14%, respectively. Policy Support Supports EV Market Fresh policy support should get the US EV market moving. By 2030, analysts predict the US auto market will have fully recovered from the effects of the recent COVID-19 lockdown slump and returned to its pre-2020 highs of eighteen million units—with 45% of all cars to be EVs. All the major car manufacturers in the US have either developed EV models or are in the process of doing so. Tesla leads the way with a reported 69.95% of the US market share. Nissan is in second place with 8.51%. Other US manufacturers are expanding their products, including Ford and Volkswagen this year. Japan is the second largest auto market in Asia, after China. However, EV adoption has been slow. There are hopes though that this could soon change. BNEF reports that car giants Nissan and Mitsubishi have plans to bring new EV models to market before the end of this year. These will be closely followed by Honda in 2024 and Daihatsu the following year. Meanwhile, in South Korea, EV take-up is strong, on the back of offerings from domestic car makers Hyundai and Kia, with end-2021 EV sales nearing 15%. Challenges The disadvantages that have hampered the growth of EVs over the years are well understood. They include poor performance, compared with ICE vehicles, and a lack of range, compounded by the low availability of charge points; the multiplicity of payment options; and incompatible charging technologies. There is also the problem of slow charge times. These can often be measured in hours, rather than the minutes typical for ICE vehicles at fuel stations. Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius told the Stuttgarter Zeitung, “As long as the charging structure and the markets have not yet reached the point of switching completely to electric cars, there will continue to be cars with combustion engines.” In recent years though, automotive companies have markedly improved EV performances. More charge points are being installed, and efforts are being made to homogenize their technologies. The “holy grail” of higher EV recharge speed that can compete with the ICE’s fuel pump speed is now close at hand. The fastest EV charge points now promise a vehicle battery recharge of around five minutes for 100 miles of charge. In recent years, automotive companies have markedly improved EV performances. An Israeli EV battery company, StoreDot, is developing Extreme Fast Charging (XFC) technology based on silicon-dominant lithium-ion chemistry, that promises to whittle this time down to as low as “two to three minutes” by 2030. Meanwhile, the China-based Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd. (CATL), one of the world’s leading makers of EV batteries, has announced that its next-generation battery has a range of 621 miles and will debut early next year. This range compares favorably with the Lucid Air battery, which has a range of 520 miles, and the Tesla Model S, with 405 miles. Electricity Price Rise But even as EVs look to making their long-awaited market breakthrough, two issues threaten to derail their progress. The first is the unforeseen rise in electricity prices this year caused in part by the ongoing war in Ukraine. EV market growth relies on an increase in the availability of ever more powerful batteries. This in turn requires rising electricity production and consumption. The unforeseen rise in electricity prices this year threatens to derail EVs progress. Last September, Tesla announced that it was increasing its Supercharger prices “significantly” across Europe. It blamed the skyrocketing costs of both gas and electricity that have risen over the last year. It used to cost between $5 and $10 for a full charge at a Tesla Supercharger. However, many Supercharger stations are now charging $0.50 per kWh. This is equivalent to a cost of $30 to charge 60 kWh. A Tesla email to owners in Europe warned of yet more price increases on the Supercharger network. In the UK, EV customers face higher energy costs following the UK’s planned October electricity price rise. The Problem of Lithium Supply The second issue has to do with the availability of lithium, a key component for EV batteries. According to McKinsey & Co., 98% of all global lithium is produced in China, Latin America, and Australia. Although some private firms in the US are keen to enter the lithium mining sector, they have faced fierce domestic opposition. The same story has unfolded in Serbia and Portugal, which has left the supply chain vulnerable to disruption. compound the supply problem, by 2030 lithium supply is forecast to fall short of demand by 4% for the first time, according to the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). By 2035, the gap is set to expand to 24%. UK’s Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) warns that the likely shortages of lithium for electric battery production in the UK could endanger the move towards EVs and instead facilitate a transition to alternative hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. The APC claims that as many as 75% of the largest and luxury cars, including vehicles such as the BMW 7 series, the Mercedes S class, and typical Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars, could be forced to switch away from electric power supply. The sports utility vehicle (SUV)/four-wheel drive markets might face the same problem, all of which will have a major impact on EV demand. Shortages of lithium for electric battery production could endanger the move towards EVs. An additional factor is the upfront purchase or financing cost of an EV continues to remain stubbornly high compared to ICE vehicles. The cost of financing a Tesla Model 3 in 2022 is around $52,875 against that of a BMW 3 Series gasoline engine model, which costs from $39,986 to $41,676. But while EV proponents admit that the purchase and financing costs of an EV are higher than for an ICE vehicle, they point out that the running cost of an EV over an average lifespan is much lower than for its conventional ICE-powered counterpart. So over ten years an EV vehicle could, in fact, prove to be the cheaper option. Plus, EV battery recharge costs are comparatively low at around 80% cheaper than the refuel cost of an ICE vehicle. “The typical family-sized EV now costs £28.51 [$31.09] using a rapid charger—£64.25 [$70.06] cheaper than filling the same size car with fuel,” Tom Rowlands, managing director, Global EV Solutions at Fleetcor, wrote in Automotive World in September. Maintenance costs for an EV that typically only has around twenty moving parts are also lower compared with an ICE vehicle, which typically has more than 2,000 moving parts. So, in conclusion, while the current cost of purchasing an EV is high, it is now falling. Thereafter, cheaper running costs at least provide opportunities for savings. *Nnamdi Anyadike is an industry journalist specializing in metals, oil, gas, and renewable energy for over thirty-five years.

One of Earth’s Countless Regional Treasures Waiting to Be Discovered By Alina Bradford* A fruit that tastes like chocolate? That may sound like wishful thinking, but there’s a real fruit that fulfills the sweet tooth. Called the black sapote (diospyros nigra), this tropical fruit is often eaten raw or used in decadent desserts. Not only does it taste good, it’s also packed with nutrition. Here’s the scoop on this fantastical fruit. Where Does the Black Sapote Grow? Sapote is indigenous to Mexico and Central America, where it was cultivated by the Aztecs and other indigenous people. It was later spread to other areas of the world. Now, the black sapote fruit tree grows in damp tropical regions of North America, Latin America, the Philippines, Moluccas Islands, and Sulawesi Island. Black sapote is a relative of the persimmon, a common tree in Asia, North America, and Europe. Large black sapote trees can produce hundreds of pounds of fruit per year. There are various varieties of black sapote that vary slightly in size and amount of seeds. Some varieties include Merida (Reineke), Bernicker, Mossman, Cocktail, Maher, Ricks Late, and Superb. What Does the Black Sapote Look Like? The black sapote isn’t really black. When young, the fruit is a bright green with orangy pulp. As the black sapote matures, it becomes very soft and turns a dark olive green or a chocolatey brown. It might look like it’s completely rotten, but it’s perfectly ripe at this point. Black sapote is also called the chocolate pudding fruit and for a good reason. When the fruit is sliced in half, it looks like a bowl of pudding with long seeds in the center. What Does Black Sapote Taste Like? The taste of the black sapote isn’t exactly how it looks, though. It’s creamy, but its texture isn't quite like a real pudding. The pulp is almost like a cross between a pudding and a jelly. The flavor varies by taste. Some people say it tastes like chocolate. Others say it tastes more like caramel or a sweet squash. Most agree it isn’t overwhelmingly sweet. Black sapote tastes best when ripe and fresh from the tree; it dries out quickly once peeled and stored in a cool place but will keep for several weeks at room temperature—assuming it isn’t eaten all at once! Black sapote doesn’t need much prep time. It is eaten by scooping out the insides with a spoon and eating it plain. Some people like to squirt the fruit with lemon juice. In Mexico, people mix orange juice with the pulp and serve it as a dessert. Black Sapote Recipes Of course, there are many recipes for this versatile fruit. It can be used to make pies, ice cream, cakes, shakes, and much more. Here are two recipes to make at home. Black Sapote Pudding Ingredients: 1 soft ripe sapote 2-3 diced dates 3 or 4 tbs cocoa powder 1 banana, cut into chunks 1 tbsp honey 8 tbsp coconut milk Blend all of the ingredients until smooth and serve in a bowl. Top with chopped nuts, grated coconut, or whipped cream. Black Sapote Fruit Smoothie Ingredients: 2 black sapote fruits (skinned and de-seeded) 1 cup water 1 cup strawberries or strawberries and blueberries 2 cups ice cubes 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (optional) Dash of ground cinnamon 3 tablespoons brown sugar Dash of ground nutmeg (optional) Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend well. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. This makes a nice refreshing drink on cool days, but it is also delicious served warm as a dessert! Black Sapote Nutrition Facts and Health Benefits Besides tasting good, black sapote is nutritious. It packs fiber, vitamins, and minerals and it is low-calorie. One black sapote fruit provides around 10% of the daily value for iron. It’s also a good source of both vitamin C, calcium, and vitamin A, and contains a moderate amount of potassium. These nutrients all come together to make the black sapote a rich source of antioxidants, which are proven to help prevent cancer. Black sapotes are also a good source of protein, with about two grams of protein per fruit. The majority of the black sapote’s nutritional value comes from its high fiber content, coming in at a whopping fifteen grams of fiber. All of this nutritional goodness comes with only five grams of sugar and around 100 calories. That’s not all. Its non-edible parts, the peel and seeds, are currently being researched to make into potential medicines because of their antioxidant and antibacterial properties. How Can I Purchase Black Sapote? Grocery stores don’t carry the black sapote because it doesn’t have a very long shelf life. The best bet to try this fruit is to travel to an area where it is grown and buy it from a local fruit stand or farmer’s market. Some online exotic fruit sellers will mail unripe black sapote fruit. It is also possible to grow it at home in some climates. However, black sapotes are tropical fruit, so they don’t grow very well in temperate regions. Eating black sapote is a great way to try something new and enjoy a popular food from a tropical region. While it may be a little difficult to find, the uniqueness of this fruit makes the struggle well worth it. *Alina Bradford is a safety and security expert that has contributed to CBS, MTV, USA Today, Reader’s Digest, and more. She is currently the editorial lead at SafeWise.com. Sources: University of Florida, “Black Sapote Growing in the Florida Home Landscape.” Accessed September 16, 2022. MyFitnessPal, “Black Sapote Raw.” Accessed September 16, 2022. Elhadi M. Yahia, Fabiola Gutierrez-Orozco, Claudia Arvizu-de Leon, Food Research International, Volume 44, Issue 7, “Phytochemical and antioxidant characterization of the fruit of black sapote (Diospyros digyna Jacq.).” Accessed September 16, 2022.

By Daniel Kobei* How the Ogiek Community in Kenya Relies on Indigenous Herbs and Traditional Medicines The ancient, forest-dwelling Ogiek community of Kenya is famed for its cultural practices, such as beekeeping and using nature for healing illnesses and injuries. The 2020 emergence of COVID-19 posed a serious potential threat to the world’s communities—and it did not bypass the Ogiek people, who live across six counties in Kenya in the 400,000-hectare (1,544-square mile) Mau forest complex. How did this ancient hunter-gatherer population fare with this 21st century illness? Since time immemorial, the Ogiek community has depended on its indigenous forest for food, water, herbal medicine, and honey harvesting. The Ogiek’s honey is believed to have strong healing properties and be capable of preventing ailments such as the common cold and cough. Thus, honey is taken with many herbal medicines and plants. The indigenous forest in Mau has a variety of herbal plants, including certain tree species whose roots, barks, leaves, gums, and seeds are useful for herbal medicine. Skilled Ogiek medicine men and women know how to recognize and gather these materials and can prepare many kinds of herbal medicines. The Ogiek Have Relied on Traditional Medicines and Practices to Deal with Health Issues Some of the herbal plants used as medicines by the Ogiek community include: Chepindorwet,Narubat, Kurpanyat, Nukiat, Soget, Segetetik, Tangaratwet, Kosisitiet, Maironget, and Ororwet. Some are boiled with bone soup while others are chewed as per instructions from an experienced herbalist or elder. These herbs are believed to be very effective in curing various ailments, and, for some community members, these herbal medicines are their only means of treating illness. Indeed, some community members in Nkareta have never visited a health center and have only used traditional Ogiek herbal medicine. Among the diseases faced by the Ogiek community are tuberculosis, asthma, and other respiratory diseases. Waterborne illnesses, such as typhoid and cholera, are also common. Malaria has been reported in Narok County, and cancer and HIV/AIDS have also been reported among the general Ogiek community. In places where there are no health centers, community members depend solely on herbal medicine; only serious cases are taken to a hospital. Improving Community Health The Ogiek Peoples Development Program (OPDP) has sought to improve community health and well-being by raising up Community Health Volunteers (CHVs). These youths from the community receive training in basic health practices and are then deployed to assist public health officers with community outreach services. The Ogiek community has also begun building the capacity of its herbalists. Traditional knowledge is being documented to preserve and protect the knowledge for future generations, and community members are developing herbariums to grow plants for medicinal purposes. The Ogiek Community During the COVID-19 Pandemic The emergence of COVID-19 posed a serious potential threat to the Ogiek community. They have limited access to basic infrastructure, such as clean water, electricity, and roads. In some areas, such as Keneti in Narok West and Nkareta in Narok North, there are no health centers where community members can receive vaccines. Moreover, testing to confirm COVID-19 cases was absent in areas inhabited by the Ogiek community. The cases of Ogiek who tested positive were those staying in cities, such as Nakuru. In addition to logistical and supply limitations, the COVID-19 vaccines were not trusted by many in the Ogiek community. Some believed that COVID-19 vaccines were lethal, while others believed the vaccines would cause infertility in both men and women. In the Nessuit dispensary, for instance, vaccines were available, but a health practitioner in Nessuit health center confirmed that community members rarely came to the health center for vaccines. Community outreach at the grassroot level has persuaded some to be vaccinated against COVID-19. However, COVID-19 vaccination is not a common practice in the Ogiek community, and COVID-19 vaccination rates among the community remain low. Most of those vaccinated are civil servants who were required to do so by the state. In contrast to Ogiek suspicion of COVID-19 vaccines, the community’s apprehensions towards COVID-19 itself may have promoted social distancing and social isolation. For instance, Ogiek who live in Mau Forest did not warmly welcome community members traveling back from urban areas. There was even a case in Sasimwani, Narok County, where an elder took all his family members and camped deep inside an indigenous forest, as he believed there was no way the virus could find them there. Community members believe that the forest will sieve the air, clearing all the virus, and that the forest and forest products will protect them from the COVID-19 pandemic. In the absence of sufficient health care facilities and conventional COVID-19 treatments, the Ogiek community turned to their traditional medical practices and treatments to mitigate instances of COVID-19-like symptoms. The actual protective benefits conferred on COVID-19 patients by Ogiek herbal medicines cannot be ascertained due to the lack of COVID-19 testing. Yet, the centuries-old Ogiek medical practices and natural herbal treatments should not be summarily dismissed; such treatments may have alleviated specific COVID-19 symptoms to some degree, or even possibly boosted immune responses, thereby protecting against COVID-19 viral infection. The perceptions, attitudes, and responses of the Ogiek community during the COVID-19 pandemic provide a real-world example of how an indigenous people responded to a devastating disease amidst a paucity of conventional treatments and health care facilities. The lessons learned from the example of the Ogiek community during the COVID-19 pandemic may improve health care efforts in other regions of the world. *Daniel Kobei is the Executive Director and Founder of the Ogiek Peoples' Development Program (OPDP), an NGO based in Kenya, with ECOSOC Status since 2019, promoting the human and land rights of the indigenous Ogiek Community and other Indigenous Peoples (IPs) of Kenya and Africa. He is the focal point on IPs matters in the International Indigenous Forum for Biodiversity (IIFB) under the Collaborative Partnership for Wildlife Management (CPW) established by the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD). He has an MBA in Strategic Mgt. from Egerton University, Kenya, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Project Appraisal and Management from Maastricht School Management (MSM) in the Netherlands.

By Rick Laezman* New Kinds of Renewables to Address Climate Change By harnessing the wind, sun, and other forces of nature, renewable technologies have showcased humanity's incredible imagination and inventiveness, and offered a glimpse into a more hopeful future with cleaner air, plentiful resources, and lots of energy without fossil fuels. Despite its prospects, though, current renewables have limitations. To fully meet the existential challenge posed by climate change, science, government, and industry would need to reach even further and tap even more far-out—or “way-in,” depending on how one looks at it—sources of energy that are much more plentiful and reliable even than the wind, sun, or ocean waves. Empirical research says those sources of power actually do exist. Neutrinos, static electro-magnetism, and nuclear fusion are some of the mind-bending concepts that may someday offer a superior source of energy to current forms of renewable power. They may solve the vexing problem of satisfying modern society's insatiable appetite for energy while at the same time bypassing all the challenges and eliminating all the harmful by-products presented by its generation. The Power is All Around Us As promising as they may be, the potential of these energy sources remains hypothetical. Yet, scientists continue trying to capture that potential. Take for example, the neutrino. In 1930, an Austrian scientist, Wolfgang Pauli, postulated the existence of an infinitesimally small particle present throughout the universe, a particle so tiny that he described it as "improbable." A few years later, Italian physicist Enrico Fermi named it neutrino, which is Italian for "little neutral one,” and the name stuck. It took until the 1950s for scientists to finally confirm the existence of the neutrino. It is generated by a process known as decay, which occurs whenever particles change from one type into another. This occurs in several ways, such as in the sun and stars and from "cosmic radiation" interacting with the Earth's atmosphere. There are even neutrinos still hanging around from the Big Bang that created the universe almost 14 billion years ago. Given the grandiose scale from which they are generated, neutrinos are extremely plentiful. They exist everywhere. In fact, they are the most plentiful particle with mass in the universe. A hundred trillion neutrinos pass through a human body every second. Not only are neutrinos plentiful, but they also have potential as a power source—if only it could be harnessed. So far, development of the technology that can perform that seemingly miraculous feat remains elusive. Yet, just as solar and wind power seemed far-fetched science fiction only a few decades ago, harnessing neutrinos may soon transition into the realm of reality. Enter the Neutrino Power Cube. German mathematician and entrepreneur, Holger Thorsten Schubart, has assembled a group of scientists who are working on the development of a prototype that will generate energy from neutrinos. Schubart believes that “neutrinovoltaic” technology offers an opportunity to meet “the growing energy needs of mankind without destroying the ecological balance of the planet.” He calls it “the power of the future.” The device is comprised of stacked layers of graphene, each consisting of a single layer of carbon atoms. The graphene layers can convert the kinetic energy generated by neutrinos passing through them into electricity. Neutrinos’ greatest advantage is their infinite supply. Because of their ubiquitous presence and abundance, they offer a limitless source of power that can be harnessed any place and at any time—not just when the sun is shining or the wind is blowing. They would not only surpass solar and wind power as the ideal clean energy source, but fundamentally reshape the power generation and transmission dynamic as we now know it. A neutrino power cube could generate electricity anywhere it is located and whenever it is needed. Initial applications of the neutrino power cube will charge up mobile phones. Eventually they could be applied on a larger scale, powering electric vehicles, and household appliances. Electricity Without Fuel While neutrinos may transform the process of generating electricity by providing a fuel source that is infinitely small and plentiful, imagine reducing the process even further by generating electricity without the need for any fuel at all. In the 1930s, German Navy Captain and inventor Hans Coler developed a device called the Magnetstromapparat, or "Magnet Current Apparatus." The device consists only of permanent magnets, copper coils, and condensers in a static arrangement, meaning they do not move or change. No energy or motion is introduced into the device. It can generate an electric current on its own based only on the constant electromagnetism generated by the materials used to construct it. While this may not sound impressive, consider how most electricity is generated. Electricity is generated by a variety of devices, but almost all of them operate on the same basic principle: the rotation of an electromagnetic turbine surrounded by a standing coil of wire. This motion, or kinetic energy, causes electrons to begin to move. These moving electrons form a current which then travels along the wires. Those wires are connected to more wires, which deliver the current to users—factories, buildings, and homes. This is the basic principle of all electric generators, including those in hydroelectric dams, steam and gas turbines, and wind turbines. Almost all electric power generators operate by the rotation of an electromagnetic turbine requiring energy to start and maintain motion. All these devices require some form of energy to start and maintain the motion within the generator. In hydroelectric dams, the force of falling water drives the turbines. In conventional power plants, coal, gas, or other fuels are burned to generate heat and then steam, which is captured and channeled to move the turbine. In combustion turbines, hot expanding gas drives the mechanism. Finally, wind turbines rely on the force of the wind to move the blades which drive the turbine, either directly or through a system of belts and gears located inside the wind turbine. All these fuel sources have limitations. Coal and gas must be extracted and delivered to the site of the turbine before they can be consumed. Alternatively, hydro- or wind-power turbines must be situated where the fuel is plentiful and can be harnessed. This is usually in a remote location, which introduces the complicated process of transmitting the electricity to populated areas where it is used. In addition, the burning of coal and gas emits harmful greenhouse gases. Wind power itself is clean, but not always plentiful and constant. It would take a giant leap of imagination to address these limitations, but that is precisely what Hans Coler did nearly 100 years ago. His device reimagines the concept of electromagnetic power generation by eliminating the need for kinetic energy. In other words, he developed a generator without a turbine, thereby eliminating the need for fuel. The device consisted of several permanent magnets wound inside a coil of wire. Their arrangement, and in particular, their separation, creates tension or resistance, which ultimately generates a small current. In this way, the device generates electricity from the magnets themselves, without the aid of motion or fuel. Coler also developed a second device, which he called a Stromzeuger or “Current Generator,” constructed in a similar manner, but with the addition of a dry battery that provided a small input to jumpstart the process. Coler reportedly used a large version of this device to power his home for several years before it was destroyed by a bomb during World War II. British intelligence officers discovered the work on both of Coler's devices after the war ended. If Coler could power his home in such a way, then a similar device could conceivably be used to power other homes as well. Powering Like the Sun While the neutrino cube and Coler's current generators reimagine micro generation, nuclear fusion is envisioning power generation with cues from the cosmos on a much grander scale. It replicates the same process that powers the sun and other stars, and for a process that produces so much energy in the universe, the potential to generate power here on Earth is nothing short of galactic. To understand nuclear fusion, it is helpful to look at how nuclear power works in current reactors powered by a process known as fission. The two processes sound remarkably similar but are quite different. In simple terms, nuclear fission involves the splitting of uranium atoms to create heat, which is used to generate electricity. Nuclear fusion operates on an inverse principle. It compresses or combines hydrogen atoms until they fuse and turn into helium. That process also generates energy—lots of it—which can then be used to create electricity. Scientists and engineers have been trying to replicate fusion since they discovered it about a century ago. Someday, they will get it right, and when they do, the output could be so tremendous it would meet all the world's energy needs. While traditional nuclear fission reactors face their own challenges, not the least of which is public opposition and fear about radiation, the main challenge for fusion is achieving a net gain in energy production. The process of fusion requires a tremendous input of energy to create the reaction in its core. A successful nuclear fusion reactor must generate more power than it consumes, and this has been the primary obstacle to overcome. While there is no disputing that nuclear fusion has the potential to supply enormous amounts of power, so far no one has figured out how to create more power than is consumed by the process. That has not stopped scientists, governments, and businesses from continuing the search. Perhaps the most notable is the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project. The word iter translates from Latin as "the way." For this project, thirty-five nations, including China, the European Union, India, Japan, South Korea, Russia, and the United States, are collaborating to find "the way" to harness and commercialize the power of nuclear fusion, which is expected to be a "boundless source of energy.” Mark Henderson is the Electron Cyclotron Section Leader for the ITER Organization. In putting the project into context, he says that the energy the world needs “is going to be in fusion.” The focus of ITER is a project in the south of France that will build the world's largest tokamak, a reactor based on magnetic fusion. It will be the first fusion device to produce net energy, the first to maintain fusion for long periods of time, and the first to test the ingredients necessary for the commercial production of electricity from fusion. (See ITER website.) It is a colossal effort, matching the amount of energy it has the potential to produce. ITER is projected to produce 500 MW of fusion power from 50 MW of input. That's comparable to the average-sized power plant operating today, with enough electricity to light up hundreds of thousands of homes. With a net output of 450 MW, it will demonstrate the ability of fusion to be energy profitable, and it sets the bar high. ITER is not expected to be operational until 2035. Progress is slow to produce real-world workable results, but proponents of ITER and other fusion projects argue the benefits are worth the time and the effort. Fusion is infinitely safer than nuclear fission, and it uses an abundantly plentiful and cheap renewable fuel. The consumption of hydrogen in nuclear fusion produces no greenhouse gas emissions (although it is important to note that the process for extracting hydrogen from its natural state to be used in fusion can produce greenhouse gas emissions, depending on the methods used). ITER’s Henderson describes it as a long-term investment for the future. The benefits go “beyond our generation,” he explains, “but that is not an excuse” to not try. Conclusion Throughout history, humanity has demonstrated its ability to solve seemingly intractable problems with scientific research and ingenuity. Solar photovoltaic cells, wind turbines, and other technologies show that replenishable fuels found in nature can be harnessed to generate energy without laying waste to the planet and its atmosphere. As the world population grows, and the fight against climate change accelerates, sun and wind may not be enough to power future energy needs. All options will be on the table. Research has shown that more powerful and plentiful sources of renewable power are available and can be harnessed. The neutrino power cube, the current generator, and nuclear fusion may one day pass from the imagination of their champions into the mainstream of energy production, just as solar panels and wind turbines did before them. Or perhaps some other as yet undiscovered technology will emerge. *Richard Laezman is a freelance writer in Los Angeles, California. He has a passion for energy efficiency and innovation. He has been covering renewable power and other related subjects for more than ten years.

By Deborah Talbot* Environmentally Sustainable Manufacturing Boosts the Bottom Line Environmental sustainability and business success are often seen as being at odds with each other—businesses must choose between being profitable and being green. But growing numbers of businesses are proving that business success goes hand in hand with upholding ecological principles. Sustainability, as company practice and supported by a robust regulatory framework, can pay off in multiple ways. What are the key components of sustainable manufacturing? What do these practices look like? How can it be profitable? What Is Sustainable Manufacturing? The US Environmental Protection Agency says sustainable manufacturing uses “economically sound processes that minimize negative environmental impacts while conserving energy and natural resources.” This type of manufacturing also “enhances employee, community, and product safety.” When companies use ecological principles to produce commodities, the design of the commodities themselves, the manufacturing process, and the overall organization of the business are all affected. These companies also observe the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, which address climate change, loss of biodiversity, social inequality, and more (see above). As Kresse Wesling, CBE, co-founder of the successful Elvis & Kresse clothing brand, says, “Sustainability is best defined by what it isn’t.” “The definition of unsustainable is either ‘unable to be maintained in the long term’ or ‘indefensible,’” she says in an interview for The Earth & I. “Something that is sustainable needs to be able to continue to be produced in perpetuity (so think socially, environmentally, and financially viable given climate change, biodiversity loss and rising inequality) and defensible.” Concern For ‘Sustainability’ Growing Sustainable manufacturing is no longer a minority concern. Research by KPMG of the top 100 companies out of 5,200 sampled companies in 52 countries found that 80% now report on sustainability and a growing number—around 40%—acknowledge the financial risks of climate change in their reporting. This finding shows sustainability reporting is more than “greenwashing” or the practice of purporting to be environmentally conscious for marketing purposes. In 2015, the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) was created to assist companies to disclose information related to climate change for investors and others. Free market proponents argue that environmental regulations hinder economic growth and profitability. In the UK, for instance, the government has promised to water down environmental protections and ramp up fossil fuel exploitation to kickstart growth. However, a letter by 100 large companies—including Amazon and Siemens—urged the government not to abandon net zero goals. A survey of 700 CEOs and business leaders across seven major world economies found that 80% believe net zero regulation is needed for their companies and the economy. Seventy percent already had plans, and 80% had earmarked funding to implement net-zero practices. Sustainability has positive impacts on business practice, employees, and product manufacture. But it’s not just a question of risk mitigation. Sustainability has positive impacts on business practice, employees, and product manufacture. A conference paper by Jawahir and Dillon (2007) identified six elements of sustainable manufacturing: manufacturing cost, energy consumption, waste management, operational safety, personnel health, and environmental impact. All these diverse elements of a business operation contribute to sustainability. While the initial outlay to transition to environmentally friendly production might be daunting and require considerable investment, most of these measures also save production costs: Improved employee health and operational safety cut sick pay or absenteeism, and wise energy consumption and waste management practices lower running costs. Being a sustainable brand increasingly has benefits. A McKinsey & Co., survey found that 66% of US respondents (and 77% of millennials) say they consider sustainability when making a luxury purchase. The Economist Intelligence Unit said there has been a 71% rise in online searches for sustainable goods in the last five years. Unilever’s eco-brands grew 46% more than its other products and comprised 70% of its turnover growth in 2017. However, cost is an issue; the McKinsey survey revealed that only a minority of consumers would pay higher prices for sustainability. Environmental Regulation: Helping or Hindering? In some political narratives, environmental regulation is seen as holding businesses back. But for many companies, environmental regulation helps create a stable business environment; everyone knows where they stand, and there is a level playing field. For Wesling, “Regulations are a necessity, but I have never understood why anyone sees them as anything other than the parameters in which you can be truly creative and regenerative.” She cites the theory of “doughnut economics”—which advocates human improvement within an overall boundary of planetary limitations—as a source of inspiration. Citing the 1972 report to the Club of Rome, “The Limits to Growth,” which argued that humans have to work within limits set by nature and natural resources, Burkhard Remmers, head of International Communications for Wilkhahn, says, “[T]here is probably no way around legal regulations to achieve real change." So, what does corporate sustainability look like? Two notable companies have embraced the idea of sustainable business and design. Elvis & Kresse Founded in 2005, Elvis & Kresse rescued the London Fire Brigade's damaged and retired fire hoses from landfill. Over ten years, they have upcycled 300 tons of decommissioned hose, turning them into luxury accessories such as bags, wallets, belts, and notebooks. They donate 50% of their profits to charity. In 2017, they partnered with the Burberry Foundation to tackle the mountain of leather waste. Over five years, they aim to recraft a minimum of 120 tons of leather offcuts to make high-end goods sold through the Elvis & Kresse brand and business model. The brand critically highlights the difference between being a truly sustainable brand and a company primarily delivering profit through greenwashing. For Kresse, it means solving a “crisis level [environmental] problem” for which companies can use the Sustainable Development Goals as a guide. Says Kresse: “It was never enough for us to rescue one fire hose. We had to solve the fire hose problem. It isn’t enough to make a very nice bag. ... You have to do all kinds of things. You have to be really genuine. You have to make a big promise, and then you have to deliver.” Wilkhahn German manufacturer Wilkhahn, founded 115 years ago, makes a range of ergonomic office and conference furniture. In the 1990s, it started integrating the principles of sustainable design and environmental responsibility into its products and production process. Wilkhahn believes design is best understood within an ecological and social context. “In short,” says Remmers, “sustainable design and environmentally friendly production are a constitutive part of Wilkhahn’s corporate culture and sense of purpose.” For example, the ON office chair has two separately moving swing plates (so-called Trimension® technology), encouraging forwards, backwards, and sideways movement, which allows the pelvis to rotate. This functionality is critical to ensure the spine's stability and health. The chair won the German Federal Ecodesign Award 2012 due to its innovation; health impact; capacity for retrofitting and repair; and its 97% recyclability. “Planned obsolescence as an industrial growth strategy must no longer have a future. … Quality of use, durability and repairability will … become the decisive criteria of the circular economy,” Remmers tells The Earth & I. The company also sees its working culture as integral to its success. They consider themselves a “human-centered workplace,” enacting the values of health, collaboration, identity, and a sense of purpose. One example of these values is that teams of employees consider tasks holistically before making decisions, which impacts positively performance and profitability. The Future of Sustainable Production Even if governments lag behind, the corporate world is waking up to the importance of working with the Earth, not against it, for the sake of humankind and the environment. Sustainability need not mean deprivation or negative growth. However, companies must do more than greenwashing. Successful companies that practice sustainability, like Elvis & Kresse and Wilkhahn, show that these practices are good for business. *Deborah Talbot is a journalist with three decades of research experience in sustainability as a concept, focusing on cities, the environment, eco tech and education. Sources: Deborah Talbot interviewed Kresse Wesling, CBE, co-founder of Elvis & Kresse; and Burkhard Remmers, head of International Communications for Wilkhahn.

By Robin Whitlock* Rising Sea Levels Sea level rise, as eloquently explained by NASA’s Global Climate Change webpage, is caused by two factors. One of these is the amount of water added to the oceans by melting ice, while the other is the expansion of seawater as it gets warmer. The graph below shows how global sea levels have risen since 1900. According to the US government’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), there has been a mean global sea level rise of about eight to nine inches (twenty-one to twenty-four centimeters) since 1880. Regionally, differences in sea level rise happen due to natural variability in the strength of winds and ocean currents that influence where and how much heat is stored in the deeper layers of the ocean. This matters because numerous communities—including eight of the ten largest cities in the world—are located near an ocean shoreline, according to the UN Atlas of the Oceans. In the US, almost 30% of the population lives in a densely populated coastal area. Melting Ice Caps and Sea Level Rise The Arctic ice cap covers the North Pole and consists wholly of floating sea ice that is constantly shifting. Some of this ice forms and melts according to the polar seasons, while the remainder persists as ice throughout the year. In the South Pole, only part of the Antarctic ice cap consists of sea ice. It melts completely and reforms on a seasonal basis, thus the seasonal decrease of sea ice is greatest in the Antarctic. The remaining portion of the Antarctic ice cap consists of ice sheets covering land, ice shelves, and glaciers. Of the two ice caps, it is the Arctic that plays the larger role in regulating the climate, according to current thinking. It does so by regulating the exchange of heat, moisture, and salinity in the polar oceans. The thickness of Arctic sea ice and the area it covers can vary significantly and change rapidly. In late winter, sea ice tends to cover an area of fourteen million to sixteen million square kilometers (8.5 million to 9.9 million square miles). In late summer, this falls to around seven million kilometers (4.3 million square miles). In contrast, in Antarctica, the ice is around seventeen million to twenty million square kilometers (10.5 million to 12.4 million square miles) in late winter. By late summer, this shrinks to between two million and four million square kilometers (1.2 million to 2.4 million square miles). According to a 2012 study on passive microwave satellite data, winter Arctic sea ice has decreased by about 3% per decade since 1979. Other evidence—compiled by scientists from satellite data, data from earlier ice charts, and other observations to form a chronological record from 1900 onward—shows that the area covered by sea ice in the Arctic has been declining since at least the early 1950s. A recent article by Chris Mooney of The Washington Post cites a study published August 29 in Nature Climate Change. The study shows that the largest source of potential sea level rise is due to the melting of the Greenland ice sheet, which is one to two miles thick. The rate at which this ice is melting has accelerated since 2000 because temperatures in the Arctic are rising faster than anywhere else in the world. Temperatures in the Arctic are rising faster than anywhere else in the world. This potentially unstoppable melting suggests that the global sea level could rise by nearly 10.8 inches even if humanity stopped producing greenhouse gases instantly. This prediction is also viewed as a low estimate: If there are years in which there is a greater amount of melting, such as in 2012, this could mean a sea level rise of thirty feet. Indeed, many scientists agree that if all the ice on Greenland were to melt, it would cause a sea level rise of twenty feet. “We have caused the ice sheet to go out of equilibrium,” said David Bahr, co-author of the study and a University of Colorado Boulder glaciologist, speaking to USA Today. “We’re melting it faster than the ice can move downstream and replenish areas that are melting.” There’s no indication yet of when this world-changing sea level rise may occur, but scientists suggest that most of it will have occurred by 2100. However, another scientist, Ted Scambos, who did not contribute to the study, argues that a longer time frame is probably more accurate. Impacts Whenever it happens, sea level rise will have “huge societal, economic and environmental impacts” across the world. Low-lying island nations and countries with coastal and delta areas—a common feature in the developing world—will be more adversely affected than nations with higher topographies. Even a small amount of sea level rise can have disastrous effects on wildlife habitats, due to erosion, flooding of wetlands, and salt contamination of aquifers and agricultural land. Moreover, sea level rise is suspected of influencing the behavior of hurricanes and typhoons—pushing storms toward the extreme end of the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind scale, or affecting their speed or rainfall. Fiercer storm surges force people to move to higher ground while threatening basic services for people who remain behind. Mitigation Measures In response to increasing sea level rise, many coastal cities are already planning to implement a range of adaptation measures. These include building higher sea walls, rerouting roads, and other transport corridors, and planting vegetation in threatened areas to stem the incoming sea water. A global network of city mayors, called C40 Cities, has published a guide explaining how cities can respond to sea level rise. The first stage is to understand the local topography and how it affects the community’s vulnerability to sea level rise. This could involve examination of a risk map and production of a climate change risk assessment. Towns and cities can follow this up by collaborating with other settlements in the region—sharing monitoring and alert systems, for example. A regional board can be established to coordinate action in the area. Improving coastal flood defenses generally consists of two options, which can be employed in collaboration with each other. One is the reconstruction and strengthening of natural barriers through restoration of habitats and ecosystems, such as coastal wetlands, coral reefs, marshes, and mangroves. The second option is building physical synthetic features, such as sea walls, dikes and levees, and flood barriers. As with other climate change predictions, an extreme sea level rise could become a “new normal.” This makes it all the more important for communities to be forward-thinking and start planning and implementing measures to protect against sea level rise right now. *Robin Whitlock is a freelance journalist based in the Southwest of England, UK. A correspondent for Renewable Energy Magazine since 2011, he specializes in environmental issues, climate change, and renewable energy, and also follows transport issues, particularly rail, bus, and coach, and green motoring.

CONTENTS NEWS SECTION Will King Charles III Be an Environmentalist Monarch? The Earth & I Editorial Team Study Cites Beneficial Coffee Components The Earth & I Editorial Team Global Electricity Use Soared Last Year The Earth & I Editorial Team DATA SECTION War’s Devastation, by the Numbers The Earth & I Editorial Team Billions of People Still Suffer from Lack of Household Water, Sanitation The Earth & I Editorial Team Transporting Food Boosts CO2 Emissions The Earth & I Editorial Team North Korea’s Deforestation Woes The Earth & I Editorial Team Typhoon Merbok Propelled by Warm Seas The Earth & I Editorial Team US Life Expectancy Dropped in 2021 The Earth & I Editorial Team ECOSYSTEMS Leave It to Beavers—How These Legendary Dam Builders Bolster Ecosystems Mal Cole Bluefin Tuna at Risk Gordon Cairns FOOD The Mighty Mushroom Julie Peterson Black Sapote—A Chocolatey Tropical Treat Alina Bradford HUMAN HEALTH People Have the Capacity to Love and Heal the Earth Chris Laszlo Maybe It’s Time to Walk Out on Obesity Paramita Mandal, Rojina Yasmin, and Suvanjana Ghosh CLIMATE CHANGE Why Silvopasturing Is a Win-Win for Brazil and the Climate Richard Kemeny Rising Sea Levels Spur Mitigation Robin Whitlock NATURAL DISASTERS Indigenous Resilience During COVID-19 Daniel Kobei ENERGY Hope Persists for EV Growth Despite Obstacles Nnamdi Anyadike Reimagining Energy—Could New Kinds of Renewables Help Solve Climate Change? Rick Laezman WATER QUALITY Troubled Waters Mark Smith Clean, Sparkling, Safe Water for All Natasha Spencer-Jolliffe WASTE MANAGEMENT Everything Old is New Again: Thrifting Makes Recycling Easier Kate Pugnoli ECONOMICS & POLICY Going Green Is Good Business Deborah Talbot EDUCATION Raising Environmental Scholars of the Sea Yasmin Prabhudas

Namibia and India have agreed to a historic pact to relocate African cheetahs to a part of India where Asiatic cheetahs once roamed. Eight of the animals, four males and four females, are due to arrive from Namibia in August 2022 to coincide with commemorations of India’s 75th year of independence. Cheetahs have been extinct in India for over 70 years. India Minister Bhupender Yadav, who heads the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, tweeted that “restoring the fastest terrestrial flagship species, the cheetah, in India, will rekindle the ecological dynamics of the landscape." "Cheetah reintroduction would also greatly enhance local community livelihoods through eco-tourism prospects in the long term," he added. The “Action Plan for the Introduction of Cheetah in India,” unveiled in a January 2022 press release, was co-signed with Namibia’s Deputy Prime Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah. As part of the announcement, Minister Yadav conveyed India Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intention to conserve seven “major big cats” in India. Minister Yadav said that “fifty cheetahs will be introduced in various national parks over five years.” The new home for the first group of cheetahs is set to be the Kuno Palpur National Park in India’s Madhya Pradesh state. All villages have already been relocated outside this park, and the location has ample prey and grasslands. The site can also sustain populations of tigers, leopards, and lions, as they naturally coexist with cheetahs. Other sites considered for relocation are: Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary, Madhya Pradesh Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary, Madhya Pradesh Shahgarh bulge, Rajasthan Mukundara Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan Cheetahs fight extinction because of human-wildlife conflict, loss of habitat and prey, and poaching and illegal wildlife trafficking. In Iran, the Asiatic cheetah has almost disappeared, with about a dozen known survivors. In May, Iranian officials happily announced that three cheetah cubs were born in Touran Wildlife Refuge—the first cheetah births in captivity. However, two of the cubs died within the month. Sources: The Guardian, phys.org/news/2022-07, phys.org/news/2022-05, pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage, cheetah.org